Rail Line Buy Gets Council's Attention

October 29, 1986|By Adam Yeomans of The Sentinel Staff

LEESBURG — An abandoned railroad line through a developing industrial area in Okahumpka has caught the interest of the Lake County Economic Development Council since the line's purchase by two investors.

Vincent Fechtel and his uncle, Joe Fechtel, bought the 15 miles of rail property this month from CSX Transportation Inc. in Jacksonville for $140,000. The rail line runs from Leesburg south to the Jim Rogers Industrial Park in Okahumpka and east to Yalaha.

Steve Vaughn, president of the county's Economic Development Council and the real estate broker handling the industrial park's property sales, said he hopes to arrange for the line to be restored for short-haul service. He said he plans to discuss the possibility with the Fechtels, CSX and a short-haul railroad company that is buying a 55-mile line between Umatilla and Orlando from CSX.

CSX abandoned the Okahumpka line in December 1985 because it was no longer profitable to operate, said Lindsay Leckie, a CSX spokesman. The small portion of the track that crosses State Road 33 has been removed.

The railroad has been closing its unprofitable short-haul lines around the state, including a 25-mile stretch along State Road 50 in south Lake and Orange counties two years ago.

Vaughn and Jack Pae, executive director of the council, said rail service to the 140-acre, privately owned Okahumpka park would make the site more attractive to potential businesses looking for industrial space in Lake.

The park recently has experienced a surge of activity, with a concrete plant and a manufacturer starting construction. A $25 million power-producing garbage incinerator also is planned.

The Fechtels bought the rail property as an investment, Vincent Fechtel said, and had planned to resell it. The purchase did not include the actual rail lines, he said, adding that CSX plans to seek bids for the removal of rail materials.

Fechtel said Monday that he would consider working with council officials to return the stretch of rail to service, although he said he is ''not too optimistic'' because the line is not being used.

John Levine, vice president of Pinsly Railroad Co. in Westfield, Mass., said the private rail company is ''very open'' to studying purchase of the line for short-haul service.

Pinsly agreed to buy a 55-mile stretch of rail from Umatilla to Orlando from CSX in June. Pending regulatory approval, Levine said, the company plans to take over the line in mid-November and call it Florida Central Railroad.

After the company completes the purchase of the 55-mile line, Levine said, it will consider buying other short-haul lines in Florida.